It’s Monday morning and Mary Monterio is having a ball of a time. While laying out flowers on cyanotype paper, the 78-year-old exclaims that the flowers appear to be saying hello to her.
A stray flower escapes the arrangement and she chides that it’s getting “naughty”. She uses bold brushstrokes to coat the print with a special light-sensitive solution and gives a final flourish.
Samantha Tio (Mintio) is a lens-based visual artist. She uses analog and experimental imaging techniques in her works to create layers that condense meaning, space, and time.
In her solo-practice, she photographs landscapes with the use of film photography, in performative and meditative ways. While in her collaborative practice, she works with communities to tell their stories, using natural materials or environments to convey them. As an artist who is actively involved in civic engagement, she founded Ketemu Project, an art organization based in Indonesia.
Ketemu facilitates artist-in-residency programs as well as projects addressing social issues. Samantha is also the Co:founder of Co:Creation Workshop.
Vivacious and full of life, Mary’s presence livens up every room that she is in.
The expressive 78-year-old loves singing, art, cooking and exploring Singapore with her beloved husband John.
Diagnosed with dementia in 2015, she attends sessions at Alzheimer’s Disease Association with her daughter-in-law Shirley and her domestic helper Yanti.
